


Left In The Dark

by FactorialRabbits



Series: Factorial's Home For Abandoned Plot Bunnies [1]
Category: Sky: Children of the Light (Video Game), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending for Everyone, Lots of character death, M/M, Reincarnation, also features notes for lsz mxy lxc nmj jgy and nhs, but the actual story bit is just the main to, knowledge of sky: children of light helps a lot, major spoilers for sky: children of light, oh and also the forest and vault elders are specifically mentioned, plot summary not actual story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24998062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FactorialRabbits/pseuds/FactorialRabbits
Summary: Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian make a promise to save as many souls as possible, and to eternally be reborn that they might save even more.
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Series: Factorial's Home For Abandoned Plot Bunnies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809694
Comments: 7
Kudos: 33
Collections: SVSSS/MDZS/TGCF





	Left In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> *points at series name* 
> 
> Hello, welcome to a new project where when I can't manage writing at all I spew one of my seven thousand billion aus into a plot summary and throw it into the void.
> 
> All of these are up for adoption, though please let me know if you write or draw anything based on them. There is a small chance I'll make more of them but... Well for example this is only the first of three different Wangxian aus set in the world of the video-game Sky: Children of Light by That Game Company.
> 
> I promised series updates. It will not happen today. I'm sorry. My brain broke. >.<
> 
> Typed up because twitter friend asked nicely. Asking me nicely gets you things, but not always the thing you quite wanted.

Premise: when you run out of light in Eden, you turn into one of the statues, until someone brings you a wing to help you ascend. The Eye of Eden - well all of it really, but the lower parts were cleared out years ago - was once the capital of the civilisation from which the sky children descend. The sky kids who gather light and go through Eden do it to rescue their ancestors - or, as many of them are, the previous sky kids. Over time the number of statues slowly decreases, as each person who enters does their best to save more than one person before they die. And then it is common for those ones, once rescued, to ask to be reborn back into their families and clans, so they may pass on their expertise and save more souls. They hope someday it will no longer be needed, but that is a far distant future. Also the lightless soul statues can shatter if they continue to be corrupted too much - like those that blow away in lower Eden in the game.

* * *

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are both sky children, who alongside their siblings and friends trained to gather light and save lost souls. How to cape and fly and all that. They become friends, and promise to work together to save as many souls as possible! And then be reborn together so they can carry on saving as many people as they can!

They adventure together through thick and thin - dates in the Bird Nest, games in the Valley, rescuing one another when hit by krill in the wasteland, flying together through the vault, concerts in the isle, and so on.

(A first - and only - kiss while resting in the hollow of a tree in the forest)

In the end they come to Eden. It is a hard path, but hand in hand they fight their way through. They make it past the storms and the krill and the first darkness, yelling encouragement to one another over the storm. Wei Wuxian rescues Lan Wangji from a krill. Lan Wangji grabs Wei Wuxian by the ankle when he tries to fly across a gap and nearly gets swept away by the storm.

Together, hand in hand as ever, they make it to the final corridor, gather up the light in it, and press into the Eye of the Storm - the graveyard of fallen souls.

They would be faster if they split up, but if they are careful they do not need to. They recharge one another's light in sheltered areas, and release souls at the cost of their own. One after the other after the other. Its all going well, until Wei Wuxian darts out from cover to save a statued-soul out in the middle of the yard.

He makes it and saves it and continues running for the closest cover.

Lan Wangji can only watch in horror as the red-rocks start raining again. With so few wings left, Wei Wuxian is vulnerable. A rock slams into him, and takes his light. He stumbles. Another and another and another rock hit him, even as he tries to run to safety. A particularly large one slams into him, knocking him from his feet and into the wind. He is swept away, even as Lan Wangji reaches for him, far, far away. But, its okay, right? Adventurers loose their light all the time. Someone will save him eventually. They both came here knowing they would die.

Except you know how impassible terrain happens? Well Wei Wuxian got hit in the face by a red rock right at the end, thrown into a red lava stream and swept away. And the statues happen where you die. In Wei Wuxian's case, this is far, far from any light or other soul, in the middle of a lake of red-rock lava. Lan Wangji watches his light get entirely shattered knowing nobody will save him, because it would be impossible to reach him without dying yourself and there is only one soul that way, but still carries on.

He delivers the rest of his light, positions himself somewhere he can be found - he promised to save as many souls as possible, and he shall in Wei Wuxian's name.

In time light is bought to him, he ascends, those he rescued bless him for the work he has done that he starts with more light, and he is reborn.

And again.

And again.

Each time he has to pass Wei Wuxian's lonely, lightless soul. Each time he gains more light, and he realises... If he gathers enough, surely he can make it to Wei Wuxian and back? Nobody has gathered that much before, but surely he can?

And so, the next time around, he starts with a lot and gathers as much as he can. Every time he does this, until with each rebirth he is so bright that he comes to be known as Hanguang Jun. People are so proud of and grateful for him, he is the great ideal of what a sky kid should be, and he dares not tell them he is selfish. That he has saved so many souls just so he has the chance to save the one person who means everything to him.

Then one cycle, finally, he thinks he has enough light to get there, to save Wei Wuxian, and to get close enough to the main area that someone will be able to save him too.

Alone - he is always alone now, no matter how many moths he helps train he always tackles Eden alone, not wishing to bring them into danger - he goes to Eden. He fights his way through storm and krill and red rock until he reaches where he should be able to see Wei Wuxian.

There is nothing there.

He is too late; Wei Wuxian's soul is too corrupted, and it shattered under the weight of the darkness.

In grief he carelessly hands out the last of his light, losing more of it than he should to the storm but he cannot quite care, and sits himself down to die. He does not bother to make himself easy to find this time, instead trying to get closer to where Wei Wuxian fell.

It goes dark, and he dies...

And then he wakes up in the sky. The souls he has saved and the ancestors and elders thank him. This time... This time, he asks if he might retire. The ancient, kindly Elder of the Vaults gives him a sad smile, and thanks him for his service. She says of course he may, but before she finishes speaking, he hears a honk.

A very, very familiar honk.

He looks up and squints and ignores the elder's grumbling and laughter to run in its direction - in the direction of the gate to rebirth.

There, jumping up and down with his hands on his hips and honking for attention, is his Wei Wuxian.

He does not know what happened - Wei Wuxian does not either - but they sweep one another into a hug and, hand in hand, pass through the door to mutual rebirth.

Another round, another round. Together again, to save the world.

* * *

Details that didn't fit into the main narrative:

  * Wei Wuxian's parents were eaten by krill doing this job, and he lived alone in a cave in the wasteland for a time before he was found, being snipped at by crabs and crying. He is scared of crabs now.
  * Lan Sizhui (well a-Yuan then) was a little moth that Wei Wuxian was teaching. Lan Wangji finds him on his second loop, lightless, shivering and hiding under a big leaf in the forest as he waits for Wei Wuxian to come rescue him and help him get out of the forest without dying. Lan Wangji recharges his light, takes him home, and under his wings.
  * The venerated trio are a thing. They were a very famous group of many reincarnations together, until there was a tragic accident involving the storm clouds in which Nie Mingjue was swept away, and can no longer be found. Lan Xichen is heartbroken by this tragic accident. Jin Guangyao... Well, Nie Mingjue had saved a soul Jin Guangshan did not want saving. Jin Guangyao was ordered to perma-kill him. In a divergence from MDZS canon, what he actually did was knock him into the clouds, and he ended up in the rainbow bridge out of bounds area. Except this not being a video game in this au, he's kinda just trapped in this area with no idea how to get out, and basically nobody knows it exists. Wei Wuxian will succeed in rescuing him.
  * Wei Wuxian was one of the best trick fliers. Nie Huaisang, after piecing together what happened to his brother just about, decides he could probably rescue his da-ge. And didn't he mention having visited hidden realms before? But Wei Wuxian is very dead... He's surprisingly good at the whole thing, finds out where in Eden Wei Wuxian is, then tracks down someone to rescue him for him. Wei Wuxian's statue was missing because Mo Xuanyu had already rescued him.
  * Mo Xuanyu destroyed every drop of his light rescuing Wei Wuxian, and was not as good a trick flier as him but pretty good - hence why he could get to Wei Wuxian (and a little of the way back). Nie Huaisang was with him at the time, and swept in managing to give him just enough light to ascend without endangering himself more than being in the Eye of Eden already does. Mo Xuanyu has decided he's retiring from this shit and staying dead thanks he don't wanna have to deal with the BS of being alive again. He's going to sit here and chill with the elder spirits and just... relax.. Forest mama has kind of adopted him.




End file.
